Summertime and "stay-cations"!

It's been a VERY busy summer! Between Trent graduating SK and Jocelyn starting JK in September, to soccer practices from May to July and ending with Trent's soccer tourney. The kids went to three weeks of VBS in July too! (July was a busy month!)

(One of the last days of school for Trent)

(Graduation Dinner - Trent's done SK...Jocelyn starts JK!)

(VBS at our church)

I've also been busy with my photography business too! Slowly, I'm building a good customer base! And of course having a lot of fun doing it!

(Heading to a newborn shoot)

Instead of going away this summer we've done/are doing some "stay-cations"! We've been in Parry Sound for the weekend and we went to the Highland games in Fergus last week and then we're supposed to go to Bingemans this coming week!

(The view on my walk in Parry Sound this weekend. Georgian Bay)

(Jason and Jocelyn at the Highland Games)

(Trent & Jocelyn with the Loch Ness Monster)

(Happy Canada Day!)

Another great thing is Miss Jocelyn learned to write her name...before she goes to school! It just clicked all of a sudden! She's been practising everyday! Now it's just going to take some practise getting all the letters the right!

(Mirror writing!) 

3 bushels of peaches graced the counters at mom & dad's last week! 49 jars later and 2 tubs of puree for ice cream and jam and we should be set for peaches! Pears come next week!! Yikes!

(Peaches!! YUM!)

It's been a good summer with many more great things to come in September...starting school, possible new job, new opportunities with my business...
Oh and check out my new website
www.tandjstudiosphotography.com

Happy rest of the summer!
Amanda

Soccer Tourney in July

(End of Soccer)

Legging painting

Remembering those lost...April 15th, 1912

In light the events of this weekend 100 years ago, I thought I'd post this to remember those that were lost...the Google searches I did had a few varying numbers from 2223 to 2228 passengers and crew on board the Titanic...the survival count was 700-706 people...that's about a 32% survival rate...that's pretty poor...

This is such a beautiful song...with such a sad connection...whenever I hear this song, I always think of the this scene...the despair, the defeat, the sadness, the loss...it was a big part of American history...100 years ago...I cannot imagine what it must have felt to be there...I don't know what I would have told my children...

I'm a BAD blogger!

Actually I haven't even been scrapbooking or cardmaking in the LONGEST time...I've been busy with photo shoots and shows and editting, etc...I've been getting my business off the ground and that's kept me VERY busy...and outta trouble I guess! I even had time to get some new family shots for our Christmas cards this year! (WOW!) Now to get them to Black's to get the cards ordered in time!! hahaha!

I do have pics on the T & J Studios blog if you want to check 'em out! You can see what I've been up to!

I do have a sad note to share...we had to put our beautiful dog, Chloe, down last week. She had tumours in her abdomen and was getting weaker and weaker...I miss her so much...I have her picture on my desk so I can look at her all the time...I miss her little noises at night...I miss her getting me up in the middle of the night (yes, I actually miss that now!)

Below is a picture of Chloe and "Horace" (Yes, I named the frog!) from the summer...she was SO interested in the frog and didn't even make a move to do anything to it...I just love how the frog and the dog are staring at each other! Makes me smile!! I wonder what they are thinking!!!

Anyways, I promise to get blogging more here...I PROMISE!

Sorry I have been MIA!

Hi everyone! I'm still alive! I've been super duper busy! Mom and I were on the planning committee for the Ovarian Cancer Canada Walk of Hope. Instead of going to Barrie like we usually do, we helped get the Kitchener one going. We raised over $32,000! and last year the Kitchener walk only raised $4000 so we thought it was a pretty good improvement! September started out with a bang!

It was a lot of work though! Just glad all that running is done!
Our Sunflower Seeds team won top team fundraisers. Yay!

Now I'm just keeping busy with school, both for me and my dear son! And my sweet baby girl is not really a baby too much anymore as you can see in the picture! Where does the time go?

Hockey and dance seasons have also started so I'm officially a hockey mom and a dance mom...and if course Taxi Driver to boot!

We're busy getting ready for costume parties and some more photo shoots. I'm trying to keep busy so I stay outta trouble! Fat chance right!

Stay warm!

You will never know - more poetry!

You never say you're proud of me...

You never say you want to be with me...

You never say you need me...

For something other than physical needs...

I just want to hear from you that you are proud of me...

I just want to hear from you that you think what I do is good, meaningful, worthy...

I never hear you say that...

And that hurts...

You will never know how much it hurts...

Because you never ask...

Because when I try to tell you, you walk away...

You will never know how I really feel...

Amanda Newton, April 4, 2011

More poetry...Another Lifetime

So these two poems were inspired from my novel I'm in the middle of writing...these two poems are the two different views from the protagonist and the antagonist characters...hope you enjoy!

(HIS VIEW)
Do you know what I feel?
Do you feel it too?
Why have we said nothing but our looks say 1000 words?


We will never know how we feel about each other.
If this was another lifetime perhaps we could explore it
But sadly we will never know how we feel.


When I see your smile, my heart melts
But when I see you with him, my heart breaks
Mainly because I know you will never be with me,
It would be unfair for me to wish you anything but true happiness,
I want you to be happy.
But I want you to be happy with me.


I need to love you.
I need to be with you.
I don't know if I can make you happy
But I truly wish we could find out


We will never know
We must meet in another lifetime to know
Exactly what we could have.


Copyright August 2011


(HER VIEW)

Do you know what I feel?
Do you feel it too?
Why have we said nothing but our looks say 1000 words?


We will never know how we feel about each other.
If this was another lifetime perhaps we could explore it
But sadly we will never know how we feel.


I get sad when I hear you talk about another woman,
Mainly because I know you will never hear you say this about me
But it would be unfair for me to wish you never find someone to make you happy
I want you to be happy.
I just want you to be happy with me.


I don't know what real love is anymore.
I need to be loved.
I don't know if you can fulfill that for me
But I truly wish we could find out.


We will never know
We must meet in another lifetime to know
Exactly what we could have.


Copyright July 2011

More poetry...TREES

My mom said I need to share more of my writing...so here it is...I admit I am a pretty "dark" writer...I don't like yucky-love-stuff poetry or "uplifting" poetry...some was written when I was going through some "stuff" in college...consider this a warning!

I am a tree

Whose leaves and beauty have been stripped away

I am no longer what I used to be

I stand, here in teh dark,

Just waiting for the axe to appear

This abrupt end would leave room

for other, younger, more beautiful trees to grow

There would be fresh faces,

A beauty extraordinaire

No more dismal doom and wasted time

I know it's only fair.

Written in 1998 Emmanuel Bible College

Some Poetry...

The Girl You Cannot See

I am the girl you cannot see

There's more to me than meets the eye

Under all the superficiality

I try to be me but it's very, very hard

I am unable to see past all the pain and hurt and disgust with myself

so I cannot love another

The plan for me is so unclear and I cannot see the path ahead

But hopefully, it will be revealed all in due time

Yet I live each day as the girl you see on the outside,

but strive unrelenetlessly to be the girl you cannot see.

Food Day Canada

We received a postcard in the mail a couple weeks ago advertising a Food Day Canada in Elora for this long weekend.  Me being the "foodie" I am, I thought this would be a cool way to introduce the kids to new foods. I'm also on a lifestyle change...I try to only buy Canadian food (unless I absolutely can't...such as bananas for my "family of monkeys"!)...well, this festival was about locally grown or raised food. 

Okay, so my "foodie geek" moment...I got Anita Stewart's Canada Cookbook from the library...I was actually reading it on the way to Elora! And she opened the day officially...so I snagged her for a picture...she willingly obliged. 

Anita Stewart, Jocelyn, me & (in front) Trenton

Trenton enjoying fresh-made lemonade (and he LOVED it despite his face! I think I caught him mid-sentence!) 

Miss Jocelyn drinking her yummy lemonade

"Miss Piggy", as she was fondly dubbed by her chefs, lounged on the Pulled Pork slider table!

My delicious lunch! I could eat this every day! I had the tri-colour broccoli salad (purple, orange and green broccoli), cucumber slaw, pulled pork slider compliments of "Miss Piggy" and Jalapeno Bread...it was SPICY but I love it.

The kids enjoying their lunch! (Hot dogs and Hamburger sliders)

  

Mapleton's Dairy was there too so of course we finished off our lunch with some organic ice cream and frozen yogurt (I ended up eating half of Jocelyn's...that's why I rarely order dessert! I know I'm going to have to help her eat hers!) 

Daddy and Jocelyn enjoying the view of Elora Gorge

My beautiful kiddos...being their beautiful selves! I like this one because it's a great view of the Elora Farmer's Market in background (totally set up that way of course!)

*****

I was so inspired last night, I went home to try out one of the recipes in Anita Stewart's cookbook..."June's Pavlova" (page 228). 

It's a very easy recipe but I didn't realize it takes 1 hour and 20 minutes in the oven! Oops! So we had a late dessert!

This is the base of the pavlova: 4 egg whites, some sugar, cornstarch and vinegar...SO simple

And this is the finished product...the raspberries and blueberries were fresh from the farmers' market and the whip cream I whipped up myself...I was going to buy whipped cream but it just wasn't gonna be the same!

I thought it looked pretty good...not quite like the picture though!

The kids were sitting outside enjoying their dessert as the sun set!

Yum! What a great way to end the day!

I think I need to try out some more recipes in her book...the Beef Bourginon looked good! That might be for a cold winter day though! There were some great seasonal recipes that I might have to give a try. 

Me thinks I need to get this book for myself instead of using the library's copy! Off to Amazon I go!

Bon Appetit!

Missing you...

My heart aches for you

I want to be able to take your hand in mine 

and hold it forever.

But that cannot happen anymore

I cannot see your smiling face

I cannot hear your words of wisdom

To the world you are just a memory

To me, you are my Nanny.

The pain you went through I cannot begin to fathom

The burdens you bore on your body 

should be something that no one ever experience.

My life will never be the same without you

The everyday does go on 

But there is still something missing

I pray you are happy and pain-free

I pray you will remember me forever

I pray you will never forget us.

Amanda Newton July 20th, 2011 

Nanny, 

We miss you...we all miss you...Grandpa especially...I know he thinks about you all the time...we usually have a little conversation about you when I'm at his place...every week I get to spend a little time with you while I clean up the guest bedroom...your pictures are there...it doesn't even seem like you're gone...it just seems like you're away for the day...and that you're going to walk in the door any minute...but you don't. 

I can't believe it's been four years already...so much has happened...Trenton is getting so big...I remember when you were laying on the bed with him, and he was sucking on your finger! 

And I have a little girl, Jocelyn...She's got a lot of your spunk so Mom and I ask her if you and she had tea parties together in Heaven! She usually says yes! 

We know you live on in your great grandbabies, each one that comes into this crazy-wonderful family of yours...your spirit will never die even though your earthly body is gone. I had a cup of tea this morning and said a little "cheers" to you! 

Love you Nanny...missing you lots but I know I'll see you again someday...